Truth number 1: My mind always on food, recipes and well, coffee. Pat could be telling me about work and I’ll put my mug down to say… “Soooo what do you think about doughnuts that are like brownies?” I know! How incredibly annoying! Luckily he’s use to it by now {and loves me anyways}… but you get the point: Food on the brain should be a legitimate medical condition.

Truth number 2: I love me a big, juicy, beefy burger. So when my bff’s at STAR contacted me with a recipe development project for some super top secret product I was instantly excited. I mean c’mon they had me at the words top secret. Which leads me to truth number 3: I’ve always had this inner desire to be a Charlie’s Angel {I do feel I have the hair for perfect for feathering}. I made this recipe way back in March and I’ve been biting my nails off in anticipation, I simply couldn’t wait much longer to give you all a sneak peak of their latest and greatest olive oils. First up is Star Picual Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It’s a pairing olive oil, which basically means they’ve used the first press from picual olives for an intense oil that pairs perfectly with beef or lamb. It’s really delicious you guys!

So as you probably could tell by the behemoth burger above, today’s post it’s all about the beef. When I think of beef I think of two things; hamburgers and steak. Steak and olive oil wasn’t extreme enough for me. I wanted to put the oil in, on and over a burger recipe. So I did just that and it was goooooood.

These burgers have it all! These are big-o-burgers that are so flavorful and juicy and cheesy and a little on the spicy side, you’ll just die from flavor overload. Pretty basic ingredient, pretty darn delicious burger.

Place the peeled garlic cloves in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add in the fresh parsley and vinegar.

Next add in the lemon juice, salt and pepper, chipotle powder and olive oil.

Turn it on and blend until combined.

Store it in an airtight container and pop it into the fridge until you’re ready to serve. You might want to take it out about 30 minutes before your ready so it can warm up to room temperature. PS: if you have leftover chimichurri sauce… you totally have to make thesesteak fajitas! SO GOOD!

Moving on to the burgers. Chop up an onion, Serrano chile {I discarded the ribs and seeds}, and the garlic.

Drizzle olive oil in the pan and heat over medium-low temperature.

Sauté until the vegetables start to soften.

Add in the cumin and ancho chile powder and stir.

Heat for a minute or two on the stove…

Before removing the peppers and onions to a plate to cool down, like completely.

Grab some beef, about 2 pounds worth. I like ground chuck and I think it’s what makes the best burgers.

Season with a little salt and pepper because that’s how we do…

… and now’s the time you can add those veggies into the bowl with the ground chuck.

Mix by hand until it all comes together. Be careful not to over-mix.

Form the hamburger mixture into patties. I did 4 big burgers, but you could scale them down to 6 if you wanted to.

Brush a little bit of oil over the top of your griddle. {Remember this was March so here in the mitten it was COLD, So you can totally grill these on the grill, just omit this step}

Lay the burgers down and griddle for 5-6 minutes and then flip.

Once flipped, lay down a slice of pepper jack cheese. Oh I love this cheese on burgers, it melts perfectly and it’s spicy. Love!

I cover the burger with a pan lid; the steam will expedite the whole oooey-gooey cheese thing.

Toasting the bun is totally optional, but I love a good toasted bun. I even leave mine on a little longer so it chars a bit… I’m weird like that though. I also like fresh tomato, burnt onions and fresh avocado {not pictured} and then I smother the thing in that chimichurri sauce.

Poof! The uber fantastical, spicy, saucy, cheesy chimichurri burgers. So good… you won’t believe your taste buds. Now I’m not telling you what to do or anything… but let’s just say you might want to wear a bib.

Directions:

FOR THE CHIMICHURRI: In a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, throw in the smashed and peeled garlic cloves, secure the lid and pulse until minced.

Add in the leaves of an entire bunch of parsley, the lemon juice, vinegar, kosher salt, black pepper, chipotle powder and olive oil. Pulse a few times until mixed but not fully pureed. This should be made a day or even two ahead of time so the flavors can meld. I store mine in a glass jar.

FOR THE BURGERS:

In a small skillet add a tablespoon of STAR Picual Extra Virgin Olive Oil; sauté the diced onion, garlic and Serrano chile until softened. Add in the cumin, ancho chili powder and stir. Cook for one minute and then transfer to a clean plate to cool.

In a large bowl combine the ground chuck, cooled onions/peppers and a couple of pinches of kosher salt and black pepper. Mix by hand until combined. Be careful not to over mix. Form into 4 large or 8 medium burgers and let them rest for a few so they come up to room temperature.

Brush a griddle with a drizzle of STAR Picual Extra Virgin Olive Oil and preheat to 375 degrees. Once hot place the burgers onto the griddle. If you're making a larger, well done burger cook for 5-6 minutes before flipping. Now top the burgers with slices of pepper-jack cheese. Cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the burger is fully cooked. Adjust the times if you are making smaller burgers.

While the burgers were resting, I quickly threw sliced red onions onto the hot griddle until soft and charred.

Serve on a toasted hamburger bun and top with a few spoonfuls of the chimichurri sauce, griddled red onions, fresh slices of tomato and avocado.

What a sneak attack! I had no clue star was coming out with an oil specific for beef and lamb and I’m allllll intrigued by this! Ultimate truth: I love me a big beefy burger too and yours looks phenomenal with all the delicious add-ins plus the chimichuri….AND the avocado AND the pepper jack cheese. Shoot. me. dead. LOVE this!

Haha! You two truths sound EXACTLY like me. I do the very same thing with people and they are like “Tieg, I was not even talking about food.” The brainstorming never stops in my head. The the big, fat, juicy burgers? Yes.

These are amazing!! I love the spicy chimichuri! Really, I am in love with his burger!

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Over the past few years I’ve been on a mission to find and create recipes that I can make from scratch. I hope you enjoy the recipes on this blog as they are tried and true from my kitchen to yours! (more)